Murder suspect seeks bail reduction

A former Lake County resident accused of murdering her boyfriend is hoping to have her bail reduced.

Danielle Jeanette Wood, formerly of Polson, is accused of murdering Thompson Falls resident Matthew George LaFriniere in May 2018. She appeared via video at a court hearing Tuesday morning in the Sanders County Courthouse.

The hearing for Woods is scheduled for 10 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 21. Wood also had a omnibus hearing scheduled for Feb. 18, 2020, and Wood’s trial dates have been scheduled for April 1-10, 2020.

Wood is being held in Lake County on a $1 million bond, according to the Sanders County Sheriff’s Office.

Based on Wood’s purchase of a handgun less than two months prior to the death of LaFriniere, connections between Wood’s cellphone and a disposable phone linked to Wood and statements from family members and neighbors, “probable cause exists that the defendant (Wood) has committed the alleged offense of deliberate homicide,” court documents state.

LaFriniere, 51, was found dead by one of his co-workers on May 3, 2018, underneath a piece of plywood, lying face down on the ground. He had been shot three or four times in the chest, back and hand.

A Thompson Falls police officer had gone to LaFriniere’s residence earlier that day to conduct a welfare check after LaFriniere’s father said his son hadn’t shown up for work at Empire Builders Ace Hardware in Thompson Falls that morning and wasn’t answering his phone. The officer saw LaFriniere’s truck in his driveway but didn’t find him at home.

An officer interviewed Wood that same day and learned the couple have a child together. Wood claimed she had gotten a text message from LaFriniere saying he was predisposed in Trout Creek and that she should take their daughter. Wood characterized the texts as “strange” because they didn’t originate from his phone number, but rather a number later tracked to a disposable Tracfone, according to court documents.

The couple were never married, and were involved in a custody dispute that resulted in LaFriniere getting primary custody of their child. “This was due in part to Wood’s severe alcoholism,” the state’s motion for leave to file an information and affidavit in support alleges.